Portugal’s government has reiterated its appeal to Portuguese activists on board the flotilla that intends to take humanitarian aid to Gaza to stay in international waters, warning of “very serious risks” if they don’t.
“Given the information available on the current location of the flotilla, we appeal to you once again not to leave international waters; leaving that space entails very serious risks of which you will certainly be aware,” Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel has written to Left Bloc MP Mariana Mortágua, actress Sofia Aparício, and activist Miguel Duarte.
In the message, to which Lusa news agency has been given access, the head of Portuguese diplomacy reminds the Portuguese nationals that Italian naval frigates that have volunteered to provide consular and humanitarian assistance will not follow any incursion into the Israeli ‘danger zone’.
Last night, the Israeli Navy said it was ready to intercept the Global Sumud Flotilla, made up of more than 50 vessels bound for Gaza, which was due to enter the zone imminently.
“Without jeopardising respect for individual autonomy, we leave this new appeal and remind you that there is effective availability to get the humanitarian aid you are transporting to Gaza through Cyprus,” the government reminds.
This proposal, put forward by Italy and which would have the collaboration of the Catholic Church, has already been rejected by the activists on board 50 boats that have been inching their way towards Gaza for weeks, who have said their aim is to “break the Israeli blockade” of the Palestinian enclave.
It is something that can only be attempted without any form of protection by the naval ships of other countries, warns Rangel.
And in spite of his entreaties, and those of other governments to their own citizens participating in this flotilla, it appears this morning (Wednesday) that the boats have indeed sailed into the so-called “high risk zone” (150 nautical miles, or 278 kms from Gaza) from which all previous flotillas have been either stopped, or attacked.
Israeli military sources have already said their plan is to transfer all the activists to a large military ship and tow then tow their boats to Ashdod harbour, “with the possibility of some being sunk at sea”, reports Lusa.
Israel has always insisted that it will not allow the flotilla to enter Gaza waters.
The Global Sumud Flotilla is considered the largest humanitarian flotilla organised to date.
The ongoing war in Gaza is the subject of concerted efforts now towards a peace deal which today is looking like it may have some hope: Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that led a hideous attack on Israeli territory almost exactly two years ago (killing over 1000 people, and taking over 250 hostages) has intimated that it may accept the terms of the peace plan, put forwards by the White House. According to the BBC this morning, however, the fact that the flotilla is still continuing towards Gaza is seen as a risk to the peace plan. “Italian prime minister Georgia Meloni has told the flotilla to stop, saying the latest attempt by activists to deliver aid risks derailing the US plan”, says the broadcaster.
Israel’s retaliation to the October 2023 massacre has already caused more than 66,000 deaths, the destruction of almost all of Gaza’s infrastructure, and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands.
Israel has also imposed a blockade on the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, where hundreds have died from malnutrition as a result, the vast majority of them infants and children.
Source: LUSA/ Aljazeera.com
